To build quality targeted link as SEO professionals we now need to think outside of the box and look at Geo Targeting our link building.

  We all know how important quality inbound links can be for our websites, Quality links are one of the most important aspects of search engine optimization, however if our website is targeted at a specific area or specific country for that matter then we may be over looking a very important optimization method that can cost us positions in the serps.

   Let’s look at a website designed to target dry cleaning customers in Dallas Texas for example. in order to properly optimise we want to gain links from other businesses and websites that are located or targeting Dallas Texas or at the least targeting Texas. Sure we will will be welcome to any links especially any from the United states however how much will a link from say China help us. Well let’s look at the old saying “build your site for users and not search engines.” The same holds true for our link building efforts.

   Another example might be that we have a nationwide shopping site that targets customers in The United States. Again this type of site will broaden our horizons for link building however in most cases we will still want to Gain U.S. links. Links from other countries will not hurt us so don’t get me wrong however for our target audience a link from the country we are targeting will have more juice.

So Let’s lay this out to make it simple by priority

Best value =Quality links from our niche in our geo targeted area

2nd best value = Quality links in our niche on our surrounding area ( example we live in Michigan, Canada links would probably be good)

3rd best Value =Targeted links in our niche elsewhere

4th best value =Targeted link outside of our niche in our area

And so on and so on…….

The following excerpts are from a post made atSearch Engine Land.

Rule 1: Location, location, location is everything

The most obvious new parameter to consider is location of the site on which a link originates—or perhaps more appropriately, where the search engines believe the link originates. To succeed in a specific geographic region, you are going to need not only good content targeted at that region and in the correct language, but also links to your site from within that region. So, if your target is to sell tire fitting to Austrians, you need a site in German and you need to acquire links from within Austria.

What does that expression “within Austria” actually mean? When you start to consider this question closely, you begin to realize just why local domains really are so crucial outside of the US. There are really only two factors which make any sense—an IP address from an Austrian server or a ‘.at’ domain for Austria.

If you’re running a hosting company serving a particular market—such as Austria—you’re going to want to be competitive and you’re going to want a good connection to the backbone of the internet. This makes it attractive for smaller hosting companies based in many smaller markets to sell—or rather to re-sell—hosting space which sits on servers which may not be located directly in Austria but might actually be in the US, UK or other country where servers resources are easier and more cost-effective to come by. In other words, not physically hosted in Austria.

What this means is that, when choosing a local link partner, the easiest way to be sure that a link from an Austrian organization is treated by search engines as a fully-fledged genuine 100% Austrian link is for it to be coming from a site with a ‘.at’ domain.

Rule 2: Correct geo-targeting helps

Meanwhile, Google allows you to specify within Webmaster Central which geographic region you would like your “.com” to be targeted at. This is a useful workaround for organizations who have a site hosted in the US and on a “.com.” But it is a workaround and there are certain deficiencies with relying on this technique. One relates to selecting link partners. If your “.com” site is targeted at Turkey, for instance, but it’s not using a “.tr” domain then you may find local Turkish link partners don’t identify with your site or wish to exchange links with you because the link will still appear to be US hosted on a “.com.”

A quick straw poll demonstrated that few people really know how Google will treat the location of the link on a geo-targeted page—but most believe that it will be given the location of the hosting if the domain is a “.com.” In a way, it doesn’t matter what the truth is, as this is a case of “perception is reality.” The solution is to correctly geo-target your site which means either hosting it locally to the market you’re targeting (and check that the hosting really is local!) or better still to run your site on the appropriate local domain.

Hope you enjoyed the post. Please link to this post f you find it valuable.

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